1, a close cap. 2, 3, 4, 5, wigs. 6, the crown of the upper and lower country, or 9 and 8 united. 10 to 14, royal head-dresses. 15, beard of a god. 16, of a king. 17, of a private individual of rank.

always shaved the head, and that the reticulated texture of the groundwork, on which the hair was fastened, allowed the heat of the head to escape, while the hair effectually protected it from the sun, it is evident that no better covering could have been devised, and that it far surpassed in

comfort and coolness the modern turban; which is always found by those who are in the habit of wearing it, to be very agreeable in hot weather, provided all the particulars are attended to, which the Turks find so essential, but which those Europeans who merely put it on for effect, too often neglect.

The upper portion of the wig was frequently made with curled, and not with plaited hair, this last being confined to the sides and lower part, as is the case in the wigs preserved in the British and Berlin museums; but the whole was sometimes composed of a succession of plaits, commencing from the centre of the crown, extending downwards, and increasing in length towards the bottom.

No. 400.

Front and back of an Egyptian wig in the British Museum.
3, shows the appearance of the long plaits, a. a.

Some smaller wigs, worn by persons of rank, consisted of short locks of equal length, arranged in uniform lines; imitations of which appear to

have been made in woollen or other stuffs, under the denomination of false wigs, for the use of those who could not afford the more expensive quality of real hair.

No. 401.

Wig, about 2 feet in length, seen in front. Berlin Museum.

Wigs were worn both within the house and out of doors, like the turban of the present day; and a priest might even officiate on some occasions in his wig. At parties, the headdress of every guest was bound with a chaplet of flowers, and ointment was put upon the top of the wig, as if it had really been the hair of the headt; and one instance occurs of a wreath of leaves placed round the crown of a king, on a statue of

* Vide Athen. xv. 13. and Juvenal, Sat. xv. 50.

Unguenta, et flores, multæque in fronte coronæ." + Vide Vol. II. p. 214. 218.

Sabaco, in Ethiopia, precisely similar to those worn by the Romans.*

The Egyptians, says Herodotus, "only let the hair of their headt and beard grow in mourning, being at all other times shaved‡;" which agrees perfectly with the authority of the Bible §, and of the sculptures. So particular, indeed, were they on this point, that to have neglected it was a subject of reproach and ridicule; and whenever they intended to convey the idea of a man of low condition, or a slovenly person, the artists represented him with a beard. It is amusing to find that their love of caricature was not confined to the lower orders, but extended even to the king; and the negligent habits of Remeses VII. are indicated in his tomb at Thebes, by the appearance of his chin, blackened by an unshorn beard of two or three days' growth. But it was likewise given as the test of hardships undergone in a severe campaign; and the warlike character of Remeses the Great is pointed out in the same manner.

The Egyptians did not confine the privilege of shaving to freeborn citizens, like the Romans, who obliged slaves to wear their beards and hair long, and only permitted them the use of a cap ¶

* Vide suprà, p. 352. wood-cut, No. 398., fig. 4.

+ Diodorus states, that they suffered the hair to grow when on a journey; but this was probably on accomplishing a vow. Diod.

i. 18.

Herodot. ii. 36. and iii. 12.

Gen. xli. 14. Joseph, when sent for by Pharaoh from prison, "shaved himself, and changed his raiment."

66

Vide wood-cut, No. 115. Vol. II. p. 127.
Livius, xlv. 44. Pileatum, capite raso

libertum."

after they had been enfranchised and though foreigners, who were brought to Egypt as slaves, had beards on their arrival in the country, we find that so soon as they were employed in the service of this civilised people, they were obliged to conform to the cleanly habits of their masters; their beards and heads were shaved; and they adopted a close cap.

The priests were remarkable for their love of cleanliness, which was carried so far, that they shaved the whole body every three days, and performed frequent daily ablutions, bathing twice a day and twice during the night.' It was not confined to their order; every Egyptian prided himself on the encouragement of habits, which it was considered a disgrace † to neglect: we can, therefore, readily account for the disgust they felt on seeing the squalid appearance and unrefined habits of their Asiatic neighbours, whose long beards were often the subject of ridicule to the Egyptian soldier; and for their abhorrence of the bearded and long-haired Greeks; which was so great, that, according to Herodotus +, "no Egyptian of either sex would on any account kiss the lips of a Greek, make use of his knife, his spit and cauldron, or taste the meat of an animal which had been slaughtered by his hand." The same habits of cleanliness are also indicated by the "changes of raiment "

* Herod. ii. 37. Porphyry says thrice a day, and a nocturnal ablution occasionally.

† Herod. ii. 37. Plut. de Is. s. 3.

Herod. ii. 41. and 91.